Spontaneous bilateral carpopedal spasm in a bulimic patient

Tachamo, Niranjan; Timilsina, Bidhya; Lohani, Saroj; Nazir, Salik

doi:10.1136/bcr-2017-222726

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Often, the etiology is not due to a single cause but rather a combination of electrolyte derangements. Several cases in the literature describe the development of tetany in young females with malabsorption due to inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, or bulimia, who are found to have multiple electrolyte abnormalities [1-3]. The majority of published cases of tetany describe non-life-threatening symptoms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Don't Take It 'Lytely': A Case of Acute Tetany

Johnson

Patel

Williams

2019

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The most common causes of tetany are hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, hypokalemia, and alkalosis. Most case reports of tetany in the literature include some combination of the above metabolic derangements leading to non-life-threatening symptoms. We present a unique case of severe life-threatening tetany in a 38-year-old female with a history of Crohn’s disease. She was previously dependent on total parenteral nutrition (TPN) but discontinued TPN two weeks prior to presentation due to the improvement of her Crohn’s symptoms with a new medication regimen. We propose that malabsorption led to multiple electrolyte abnormalities, resulting in acute tetany that subsequently caused rhabdomyolysis. This case reviews the most common causes of acute tetany and highlights the interaction between electrolytes implicated in both tetany and rhabdomyolysis. It also emphasizes the importance of considering tetany as a diagnosis in a patient with unstable vital signs and diffuse muscle spasms.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%